Common Stories
by cupid-painted-blind
Summary: November 17, 1976. Sirius Black instigates a crime. Severus Snape finds the proof he's been looking for. James Potter is desperate to save a life. And Lily Evans overhears a shattered friendship. First of a series; leads into "and in this moment i am happy" and "i await a guardian."


**common stories**  
_I even heard the demon living here in Rashomon fled in fear of the ferocity of man._

i. the instigator

It's a bad day, in every sense of the word. Middle of November, in that bitter place between the first freeze and the first snow, on a very dark night. It seems like a good idea at the time.

The little slip of parchment falls "accidentally" from his pocket, and he continues on like he doesn't know. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Snape pick it up and inspect it. He almost laughs. It's really too easy.

ii. the victim

The parchment in his hands is rough, with a little diagram scrawled on it - the whomping willow, and the knot that will open the passage underneath. His eyes widen, he gasps, he looks around furtively for a culprit. Sirius Black is several people ahead of him, laughing raucously with his obnoxious friends, apparently unaware that _he_ now holds the key. Severus smiles and slips the paper into his pocket. Tonight, he will finally have his proof. Tonight, he'll be validated.

He's guessed at what those four get up to every month, guessed that one of them - Lupin, most likely - is harboring a dark secret. But when he went to Slughorn, the _pathetic_ man just shrugged it off and told him that he was being paranoid. And Severus won't _dare_ go to Dumbledore with his suspicions, not without sufficient proof. It's hardly a secret that Dumbledore favors his old house, and anyone with half a brain can see his soft spot for Potter and his hooligans. No, if Severus wants to make any headway in getting this secret out to the public - and thus, hopefully, getting rid of the Marauders - he'll need good, solid _proof._

It feels like his blood is on fire when he steals out of the castle, just as the moon is beginning to rise. An electric energy runs through his veins, a desperate excitement. He's _this close_ to having what he's longed for these past six years. With _them_ out of his way, he'll be able to peacefully finish his time at Hogwarts, and maybe - just maybe - he'll be able to convince Lily to forgive him.

He's shaking when he touches the knot.

iii. the hero

It's a chance thing - he glances out the window at just the right moment, from just the right angle, just in time to see a dark, cloaked - and wholly unfamiliar - figure disappearing into the passage underneath the Whomping Willow. His heart leaps into his throat and he freezes dead in his seat. Sirius and Peter are in detention tonight. Remus is alone in the Shrieking Shack, but he left over an hour ago.

He doesn't stop to think, to hesitate, to wonder who it might be or how they might have learned about the passage. He simply runs, a staggering, uncoordinated mess of emotion and terror and _I have to get there now!_ He crashes into a group of people - red hair flies into his peripheral vision - but he doesn't even apologize, just keeps running.

It's bitter cold and windy outdoors, and he is not, in any way, dressed for the weather. He doesn't even feel it, his whole body numb with urgency. If he doesn't get there in time... someone will be dead, and Remus - innocent, perpetually depressed, completely undeserving _Remus_ - will be held responsible. Not just by Hogwarts, but by the entire _country._ His life will be effectively over. And James _cannot_ allow that. Remus is the best of all of them, the voice of reason, the kindest-hearted person in the world; James will _not_ let Remus, however accidentally, kill someone.

By the time he crashes into the passage, his lungs are burning from the cold air, there's a stitch in his side, and his face is stinging. His whole body is shaking violently, but if it's from the cold, the sprinting, or the fear, he doesn't know.

He hits the door to the Shrieking Shack only seconds after the intruder. He can hear Remus howling and there, about to open the door to a fully-grown and highly dangerous werewolf, is Severus Snape. He shouts something, although he doesn't know what. Snape turns; beyond the door comes the pounding of feet.

He lunges forward and grabs Snape, then bodily _throws_ him back into the passage. He thinks he's screaming; he knows Snape is. He shoves his full weight against the door at the same time Remus does. The wood splinters from the shock but doesn't break. Time is running out - Remus, in his werewolf form, can easily overpower James, in his human form. But with Snape here, he doesn't dare turn.

A glance back to the doorway - Snape is staring in horror at him, immobile.

"Get out of here, you mangy _git!_" he shouts, leaning hard against the door and praying that it holds for just a bit longer.

"I _knew_ it," Snape growls, a strange, manic light in his face. "I _knew it!_ He's a - Lupin's a werewolf!"

James snaps. "Yeah, he is, now what the _fuck_ are you gonna do about it? 'Cause the longer you sit here, the more likely it is that you'll be wolf _chow_ before morning!" He doesn't even care that Snape knows, not right now, not while he's straining against the doorframe and sweating in fear and exertion despite the cold. All he cares about, in this moment, is that Snape _leaves_. Let him tell the school: better that he lives and they all know than he dies and the secret is kept.

"I have proof!" Snape cries triumphantly, that same glint in his eye, something worryingly like madness. James's heart sinks to the floor, and he feels sick to his stomach. "This'll be the end of you and your cronies!"

"Not if you die here!" James screams, and feels tears pricking at the back of his eyes, although he isn't sure if they're from rage or sadness or guilt. "Get _out!_"

Behind him, Remus lets out another howl. James braces himself for the impact that he knows is coming. Snape jumps and bolts into the passage.

iv. the bystander

"What in the - " Lily cries, as she hits the ground. Unexpectedly, it's Potter, and even less expectedly, he doesn't stop, just runs by like his arse in on fire. She looks to her friends in shock and indignation. "Hey!" she yells after him, but he doesn't even seem to notice. "Stupid prick," she mutters, and rises to her feet.

"What's got him in such a hurry?" Alice asks, annoyed.

"Probably some prank gone wrong," she replies snottily, brushing off her robes, but something doesn't sit right. Maybe it's the way he didn't even glance at her - that just isn't_ like _James Potter. Neither is it like him to be in such a panic - even when crazy things happen, Potter always keeps that same arrogant cool head about himself, like nothing at all can faze him. If something has _him_ freaking out like that, chances are, it's a matter of life and death.

But then, she thinks, what could _James Potter_ be involved in that's a matter of life and death?

Her unease only gets worse when they reach the library, and there, on a table by a window, are James's books, cloak, and bag, all sprawled out like he had been planning to be right there for a long time. Against her better judgment, she walks over and inspects his things. Nothing _seems_ out of place - just the Charms homework that's due in a couple of days. And - his wand? He left his _wand?_

Now, she's worried. She looks out the window, thinking that there might be some clue outside, but all she sees is the Whomping Willow, swaying angrily in the wind. The grounds look picturesque.

Distinctly unsettled, she walks back to her group of friends and sets her bag down, resolving to pretend that nothing has happened.

After an hour has passed, though, and he still hasn't returned, her curiosity and gnawing concern get the best of her. With a cursory excuse to the others about being tired, she goes looking for him, backtracking through the halls to where he crashed into her - but nothing is there.

Lily does not, admittedly, know James Potter very well, so she can't say for certain where he might have gone. The only options that readily present themselves are the Gryffindor Common Room - unlikely, since he would have come back to get his things first - and McGonnagal's office - highly likely, but unfortunately, there's no way she'll spy on any goings-on in McGonnagal's office. Still, she can see if he's there, and if so, wait for him to get out so she can interrogate him.

Unfortunately, McGonnagal's office is empty, but it also looks like it was left in a hurry.

That leaves one other option: _Dumbledore's_ office.

She's halfway there, when she catches snatches of a conversation drifting over from the next hall.

"- why he would _do_ such a thing," McGonnagal says. "And why Potter would be willing to hang for it."

"That, Minerva," Dumbledore says gravely, "I do understand. The bonds of brotherhood are strong, and difficult to break." Just as Lily is hunting for a place to hide, the two turn the corner. Dumbledore raises an eyebrow. "Miss Evans. Can we help you?"

For a split-second, she considers asking them what the _bloody hell_ is going on, but she knows better. They'll just tell her to mind her own business and go right back to the library to pretend like nothing has happened. "No, Professors," she replies, "I was just - I wanted to ask Professor McGonnagal about the - the Transfiguration homework." She suppresses a wince; lying has never been her forte.

"Oh?" McGonnagal asks evenly, but her tone betrays a tension underneath the surface.

"Yes, just... was it two scrolls, or only one?" It's a stupid, vapid question, and she doubts that either professor is really fooled. She wishes, down to her very _soul_, that she could - just once in her damned life - come up with a viable lie.

A vein in McGonnagal's cheek twitches. "Two, Miss Evans," she replies shortly, and sweeps by, followed by Dumbledore, who inclines his head to her gently, but doesn't smile or give any philosophical quip, which only furthers her suspicions that something is _very_ wrong.

She makes up her mind to find an answer, one way or another. She's reasonably certain that Black and Pettigrew are in detention tonight - although this late, they might be out - but Lupin should be free, and he's friendly enough, so he'll probably give her at least something.

Two hallways from the Common Room, she comes upon another conversation. This one is far more heated.

" - the _fuck _were you thinking?" She shrinks against the wall, as close to the corner as she can get without being seen, and listens. It's Potter, sounding violently angry, though she doesn't know who he's talking to. "What did you plan to accomplish, huh?" A moment of silence. "I want an _answer_, goddammit!"

She has never heard him like this, but she gets another shock when the answer comes. "It was just a bit of fun," Black says, a strange note in his voice.

"_Fun?_" Potter shrieks. "Fun? _That's_ your excuse? He could have _died!_ Would have, if..." he trails off, and there's a long, pregnant pause. Finally, Potter continues in a low, dangerous voice, "Tell me you were only trying to scare him," he hisses. "_Tell me_ that was the point all along."

Silence.

Then there's a _crack_ and a _thump_, and Black cries out. "_Ow!_ What the hell? It all worked out, didn't it?"

"_Worked out?_" Potter bellows, clearly infuriated. "You tried to get another student _killed!_ By _one of your friends,_ no less! Are you out of your goddamned mind? How the _hell _is that _worked out?_"

"He's _fine_, isn't he?" Black replies thickly, and then spits. "Jesus Christ, James, I'm bleeding!"

Another long pause. "That's what you care about, isn't it?" Potter says, in a strange voice. "You care more about the fact that you're _bleeding_ than about the fact that Snape almost _died_ a half an hour ago." Something within Lily clenches shut - _what? _Sirius Black tried to get Sev- Snape killed?

"Yeah, so," Black answers coldly. "It's just Snivellus, who cares?"

"Who...?" Potter starts, incredulous. "It's just... He's a _human being_, Sirius! And you just..." Potter, it seems, is as horrified as she is. There's something horrible in his voice when he speaks again. "You've become one of them," he says bitterly. "You're just like them."

"Don't you _dare_ say that to me," Black replies dangerously. "Don't you even _dare -_ "

"Listen to yourself!" Potter cries. "'It's just Snivellus, who cares?' Just like how _they_ talk! It's just Sirius, who cares? It's just a filthy mudblood, who cares? It's just a muggle, who cares?"

"_Don't call me one of them!_"

"How are you any different?" Potter challenges, and it sounds like they're wrestling with each other. "Huh? How are you _not_ acting just like them?"

"I - am - I'm not - " Black splutters, incoherent with rage. There's a shuffling of feet, and then the sound of a body hitting rock.

"Yes, you are," Potter spits contemptuously. "I don't even know you anymore."

"_Don't say that to me!_" Black screams, and she can hear him gasping, spluttering, choking on his own voice. "Don't you dare - _Come back here!_"

"Sirius," Potter says tightly. "I _want_ to help you. I _know_ how hard it is, I know what you're going through. But..." He sighs, and she can picture him running his hand through his hair. "You're going off the deep end," he breathes, and it comes out like it's causing him physical pain. "And I'm _not_ going to watch you. If you won't let me help, then... I have to wash my hands of this."

"What?" Black asks, and it breaks Lily's heart to hear. His voice tells of horror, grief, and - and _despair_. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying... I'm saying I can't do this anymore," he replies, and his voice is hoarse. "You are my _best friend_, you may as well be my _brother_. I would _die_ for you. But you're losing it. You just almost killed a student because - because you don't care anymore. I can't keep picking up your pieces."

"You can't just..." Black whispers. "No..."

There's a moment of cold, bitter silence. "No, Sirius," Potter says, "I can't."

His footsteps retreat, but Black doesn't move. Lily stays frozen in place, briefly considering turning the corner to console him, but thinks the better of it - Black won't want to know that she knows.

Instead, in the empty quiet, Lily Evans sits still and listens to Sirius Black cry.

* * *

A/N: This idea has been floating around in my head since, quite literally, I first read _Prisoner of Azkaban_ and figured out that this mess happened. Tell me what you think! Title and quote (and framing device, sort of) are from the movie _Rashomon _by Akira Kurasawa. It is most definitely worth your time to check out.


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